JP2010149962A - Liquid crystal glass substrate transporting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid crystal glass substrate transporting apparatus which safely, reliably, and quickly carries out horizontal transportation, a change in transport directions, and a posture change between a horizontal state to an uprising (vertical) state of a liquid crystal glass substrate in a simple mechanism and without an operational interference. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid crystal glass substrate transporting apparatus includes: (1) a lift type first transport conveyor on which a height position of the liquid crystal glass substrate transported while being supported on its horizontal bottom surface can be changed; (2) a fixed-position type second transport conveyor on which the height position of the liquid crystal glass substrate transported while being supported on its horizontal bottom surface is fixed; (3) a lift type posture adjusting device with which a surface position of the horizontally supported bottom surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate can be changed and the surface position is adjusted; and (4) a suction-support posture changing device which allows the height position of the liquid crystal glass substrate suction-supported at its horizontal bottom surface to be changed and enables a vertical-horizontal parallel shift, a posture change from a horizontal state to an uprising state or vice versa, and a to-and-fro movement parallel shift in the uprising state with the bottom surface being suction-supported. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

In the liquid crystal glass manufacturing process, the present invention supplies the liquid crystal glass substrate stored in the liquid crystal glass substrate storage cassette and temporarily stored to various intermediate processing steps, and transports it to the next processing step after the processing. The present invention relates to a transport device.

In the liquid crystal glass manufacturing process, the liquid crystal glass substrate transport processing step for supplying the liquid crystal glass substrate stored in the liquid crystal glass substrate storage cassette and temporarily stored to various intermediate processing steps, returning to the cassette after the processing, etc. Conventionally, it has been introduced in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2.

The introduction technology of Patent Document 1 is an L-shaped three-axis overturning transfer device device for transferring a plurality of liquid crystal glass substrates housed in a cassette by overturning the whole cassette,

The technology introduced in Patent Document 2 is a complicated structure and control with a fork that can move in and out of a parallel fork or cross-shaped fork that transfers a liquid crystal glass substrate between the temporary table 4 and the liquid crystal manufacturing apparatus. Is a liquid crystal glass substrate transfer device mainly composed of a multi-axis substrate transfer machine.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-43808 “Equipment transfer device for cassette with glass substrate for liquid crystal display” Patent application title: Liquid Crystal Glass Substrate Transfer Device

As described above, the conventional liquid crystal glass substrate transfer apparatus employs a very complex mechanism and control of a multi-axis system that is forced to increase in size and cost, and its operation is extremely difficult.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to various processing steps for a liquid crystal glass substrate. A simple mechanism that is rationally combined with no change in motion and no movement interference in the space of about one sheet of the largest size liquid crystal glass substrate, with the change and the upside-down rolling in the horizontal state and the inverted (vertical) state In addition, the present invention provides a liquid crystal glass substrate transport apparatus that can be performed safely and reliably and quickly.

The present invention has been developed to satisfy the above-mentioned object, and technical means characterized by the following are as follows.
Accept the liquid crystal glass substrate from the previous process in a horizontal state, adjust the posture of the received liquid crystal glass substrate, roll it into an inverted state, pass it to the processing process, and also handle the inverted liquid crystal glass substrate that has been processed from the processing process. In the device that accepts and rolls horizontally and passes it to the next process,
A liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal state is supported at the lower surface by a first horizontal conveying roller and conveyed in the same direction as the loading direction, and a first horizontal support that supports a plurality of first horizontal conveying rollers is provided at a predetermined interval. Arranged parallel to each other toward the processing step in the direction of 90 degrees with respect to the loading direction, each first horizontal support is supported by the horizontal transport frame table via the girder, and the first horizontal support is placed on the horizontal transport frame table A first conveying conveyor in which a driving device for a conveying roller is installed and a horizontal conveying frame table is mounted on the upper horizontal portion of the base via an elevating driving device;
The liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal state is supported at the lower surface by a second horizontal conveying roller and conveyed in a direction of 90 degrees with respect to the conveying direction of the first conveying conveyor, and supports a plurality of second horizontal conveying rollers. The second horizontal support is arranged at a predetermined interval and in parallel with the first horizontal support, and each second horizontal support is installed on the upper horizontal part of the base via the bridge part, and the upper horizontal part A second conveying conveyor having a second horizontal conveying roller driving device installed thereon;
An eaves pole that supports the lower surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal state with a support ball provided at the upper end is arranged at a predetermined interval between the first horizontal support and the second horizontal support, and the lower portion of the eaves pole is horizontally adjusted. The horizontal adjustment frame table is supported on the frame table and mounted on the base via the elevation drive device, and the horizontal adjustment posture is adjusted to the horizontal adjustment frame table by moving the adjustment roller abutting and separating on the side end surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate. A posture adjusting device in which a posture adjusting tool to be adjusted is arranged so as to be adjustable, and
The bottom surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal state is sucked and supported by the suction pad provided at the upper end, rolls up and passes to the processing process in an upright state, and accepts the processed upright liquid crystal glass substrate from the processing process in a horizontal state. A suction support having a plurality of suction pads arranged at the top thereof is arranged in parallel between the first horizontal support and the second horizontal support, and each suction support is processed. A suction support rolling device provided with these driving devices, wherein the side end portion is supported by a rotating arm, and the rotating arm is mounted on the base so as to be capable of moving up and down, rolling and horizontally moving back and forth;
A liquid crystal glass substrate transport device comprising:

The present invention is a liquid crystal glass substrate transport that incorporates a handling movable device that has the above four functions in a plane space that is about one sheet of the largest size liquid crystal glass substrate and eliminates operation interference and is reasonably robust and compact. Since the equipment is installed, the horizontal transfer posture is accurately maintained according to the rectangular planar shape size of the liquid crystal glass substrate one by one from the storage cassette etc. for various processing processes of the liquid crystal glass substrate However, all of the actual delivery from the preparation of the carry-in / out operation, up / down operation, posture adjustment operation, transfer direction change to the intermediate processing process, and delivery operation of the tumbling roll in the horizontal state and the vertical type is ensured safely In addition, it can be performed quickly and efficiently. Also, the manufacturing cost can be reduced to 50% or less compared to the conventional equipment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a liquid crystal glass substrate conveyance processing step of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

This example is a liquid crystal glass substrate transfer device installed in the liquid crystal glass substrate manufacturing process shown in Fig. 1. A liquid crystal glass substrate W from a horizontal multi-stage storage cassette device or the like is received in a horizontal state via a carry-in device, and is put upright in a processing process. Then, it is returned to the horizontal state, paid out to the carry-out device, and the reverse carrying operation is optionally performed.
FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of the first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an overall front view of the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is an overall side view of the first embodiment.
FIG. 4-1 is a plan view of the first transport conveyor.
FIG. 4B is a front view of the first conveyor.
FIG. 4-3 is a side view of the first transport conveyor.
4-4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 4-1.
4-5 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 4-2.
4-6 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 4-3.
FIG. 5A is a plan view of the second conveyor.
FIG. 5B is a front view of the second conveyor.
FIG. 5-3 is a side view of the second transport conveyor.
FIG. 5-4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 5-3.
FIG. 6A is a plan view of the posture adjustment device.
FIG. 6B is a front view of the posture adjustment apparatus.
FIG. 6C is a side view of the attitude adjustment device.
FIG. 7-1 is a plan view of the suction support rolling device.
FIG. 7-2 is a front view of the suction support rolling device.
FIG. 7-3 is a side view of the suction support rolling device.
FIG. 7-4 is a side view illustrating an example of a rolling state of the suction support rolling device.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the liquid crystal glass substrate transport device is arranged such that (1) the horizontal lower surface support transport height position of the liquid crystal glass substrate W (commonly referred to as a work) is Elevating type first transfer conveyor 100 that can be changed to a level higher than the transfer height position, and (2) Position-fixed type second transfer conveyor that fixes the height position of the horizontal bottom support transfer of the liquid crystal glass substrate W 200, and (3) the height position of the horizontal lower surface support of the liquid crystal glass substrate can be changed to a level higher than the transport height position of the first transport conveyor 100, and for example, the centering adjustment of the planar position of the supported liquid crystal glass substrate is performed. Elevating posture adjustment device 300, and (4) the height of the liquid crystal glass substrate W of the second transfer conveyor 200 from the position lower than the transfer height position of the liquid crystal glass substrate, and the height position of the original horizontal lower surface suction support of the liquid crystal glass substrate Support for posture adjustment device 300 Positioned at a level higher than the height position, the liquid crystal glass substrate was supported on the lower surface by suction, then rolled upright, moved back and forth in parallel in the upright state, and the reverse of these operations was made possible. An adsorption support rolling device 400 is installed.

(1) The first conveyor 100 is used for delivery of the liquid crystal glass substrate to the carry-in device. The first conveyor 100 is disassembled in FIGS. 4-1 to 4-3 and enlarged in FIGS. 4-4 to 4-6. As described in detail above, the liquid crystal glass substrate W in a horizontal state from the carry-in device is transported in the same direction as the carry-in device with its lower surface supported by the first horizontal transport roller 101, and a plurality of first horizontal A plurality of rotating shafts 102 as a first horizontal support body of a two-part shaft type longitudinally supporting the conveying roller 101 are arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in the processing direction, and each rotating shaft 102 is arranged as a beam. Is supported by a frame-type bearing frame 103 having a portion (which may also be a first horizontal support), and the lower portion of the bearing frame 103 is supported by a horizontal conveyance frame table 104, and the first horizontal A horizontal conveying frame table 104 is installed by installing a driving device for the conveying roller 101. Is mounted on the upper horizontal portion 2 of the base portion 1 of the support frame via an elevating drive device.
The drive device for the rotating shaft 102 to which the first horizontal transport roller 101 is attached has a base portion in which a drive motor 111 having a first timing pulley 110 for rotational drive is suspended at the lower part of each side of the central portion of the horizontal transport frame table 104. The first transmission pulley 112 is fixed to one side of the rotary shaft 102, and the second transmission pulley 113 is connected to one side of the lower part of each girder-type bearing frame 103. The third transmission pulley 114 and the fourth transmission pulley 115 are arranged coaxially so that they can rotate simultaneously. However, the third transmission pulley 114 and the fourth transmission pulley 115 are omitted at the bottom of each pair of bearing frames on both sides, and next to them. The fourth transmission pulley 115 is omitted, and instead, a second timing pulley 119 is provided coaxially so that it can rotate simultaneously. A timing belt 116 is hung between the first timing pulley 110 and the second timing pulley 119, and the first transmission is performed. Between the pulley 112 and the second transmission pulley 113 and The three transmission pulley 114 between the fourth transmission pulley 115 is multiplied by the round belts 117 and 118 as each shown. Thus, all the first horizontal transport rollers 101 are rotated at the same rotational speed at the same time by the rotation of the pair of drive motors 111 on both sides of the central part, and the liquid crystal glass substrate in the horizontal plane state supporting the lower surface is not changed obliquely. It can be safely and stably transported.
The horizontal conveyance frame table 104 is supported by a table lifting mechanism comprising a servo motor 120, a reducer 121, a coupling 122, a ball screw 123, and a ball screw receiving support 124 provided at the four corners of the horizontal portion 2 at the upper part of the base. The upper part of the ball screw receiving support 124 is fixedly connected to the lower part of the horizontal conveyance frame table 104, and the side part thereof is guided by the contact guide 2-1 of the horizontal part 2 at the upper part of the base part so as to be vertically slidable. The liquid crystal glass substrate received from the carry-in device by lowering the horizontal transport frame table 104 is transferred onto the second horizontal transport roller 201 of the second transport conveyor 200, or vice versa.

(2) The second conveyor 200 is to transfer the liquid crystal glass substrate on the first conveyor 100 or to receive the liquid crystal glass substrate from the suction support rolling device 400 and deliver it to the carry-out device, As shown in detail in FIGS. 5-1 to 5-3, the lower surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal state is supported by the second horizontal transport roller 201 and is 90 with respect to the transport direction of the first transport conveyor 100. A plurality of second horizontal supports 202 that support a plurality of second horizontal transport rollers 201 are arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in the process step direction, and each second The horizontal support 202 is a front and rear split beam type, and the lower part thereof is fixedly supported on the horizontal part 2 on the upper part of the base part 1 via the girder 203, and the driving device for the second horizontal conveying roller 201 is installed on the horizontal part 2. Is.
The drive device for the second horizontal transport roller 201 is provided with a single drive motor 210 at the lower part of the central part of the upper horizontal part 2 of the base part 1, and its rotational drive spindle 211 is moved from the central part of the horizontal part to the left and right, that is, the second horizontal part. Extendingly arranged in a cross-cross arrangement relationship orthogonal to the lower surface of the support in plan view, the rotational drive main shaft 211 is provided with a drive timing pulley 212 at the installation interval of the second horizontal support 202, and the second horizontal support Transmission timing pulleys 213 and 214 are mounted on the front support body side and rear support body side of the central divided part of the body 202, and auxiliary pulleys 213a and 214a are provided between the drive timing pulley 212 and the transmission timing pulleys 213 and 214. These are provided and a timing belt 215 is hung on them.
Round belt pulleys 216 and 217 that rotate with the transmission timing pulleys 213 and 214 are attached to the rotation shafts of the transmission timing pulleys 213 and 214, and side pulleys 218 and 219 are fixed to the rotation shaft of the second horizontal conveyance roller 201. The tension pulleys 220 and 221 and the return pulleys 223 and 224 are respectively attached to the side surfaces of the second horizontal support 202, and the round belt pulley 216, the side pulley 218, the tension pulley 220, and the return pulley on the front support side. An endless round rubber belt 225 is hung on 223, and an endless rubber belt 226 is hung on the round belt pulley 217, the side pulley 219, the tension pulley 221 and the return pulley 224 on the rear support side.
With this pulley and belt configuration, all the second horizontal transport rollers 201 are simultaneously rotated at a uniform rotational speed by the rotation of a single rotation drive main shaft 211, and the liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal plane state supporting the lower surface is slanted. It can be safely and stably transported while preventing displacement.

As described in detail in FIGS. 6-1 to 6-3, the posture adjusting device 300 in (3) has a plurality of rotatable support balls 301 provided with the lower surface of the horizontal liquid crystal glass substrate at the upper end.竪 poles 302 that are supported by the shaft are arranged at a predetermined interval between the bearing frame 103 and the second horizontal support 202, and the lower portion of the heel pole 302 is supported by a horizontal adjustment frame table 303 to drive the horizontal adjustment frame table 303 up and down. It is mounted on the horizontal part 2 at the upper part of the base part 1 through the device, and positioning rollers 304 are provided on the four side end faces of the liquid crystal glass substrate W supported by the support balls 301 on the four side parts of the horizontal transport frame table 303. A posture adjusting tool 306 for centering adjustment of the horizontal plane posture to a predetermined posture by operating the horizontal plane position adjustment frame 305 having the horizontal plane position adjustment frame is arranged.
The raising / lowering drive device of the horizontal adjustment frame table 303 is fixedly connected to the upper end portion of the raising / lowering rod 311 of the electric cylinder 310 provided at the four corners of the horizontal portion 2 at the upper part of the base.
The posture adjustment tool 306 is provided with a U-shaped horizontal plane position adjustment frame 305 at the upper portion and positioning rollers 304 at both ends thereof. The lower portion of the horizontal plane position adjustment frame 305 at the horizontal plane position is supported by a stand unit 307, and the stand unit 307 is mounted on the upper surface of the horizontal adjustment frame table 303 via a slide drive mechanism 309 of a pulse control motor 308 type.
With the above configuration, the attitude adjustment device 300 inherits the lower surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate W transferred to the processing step side on the second transfer conveyor 200 with the support balls 301, and positions the horizontal plane position adjustment frame 305 of the attitude adjustment tool 306. The adjustment bar 304 having a roller for use is brought into contact with and separated from the four side end surfaces of the liquid crystal glass substrate, and is accurately transferred to the normal horizontal position to be transferred to the suction support rolling device 400 according to the rectangular shape size of the liquid crystal glass substrate. The centering is adjusted.

The suction support rolling device 400 of (4) rolls by supporting the bottom surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate W whose center position is accurately adjusted by suction with the suction pad 401 provided at the upper end to stand up in the processing step. In addition, the liquid crystal glass substrate in the standing state that has been processed from the processing step is received and rolled again to a horizontal state, and then lowered by a predetermined amount and transferred onto the second conveyor 200. FIG. -1 to FIG. 7-4, and as described in detail for the operation, a long beam-shaped suction support body 402 having a plurality of suction pads 401 arranged on the upper side thereof is replaced with the bearing frame 103 and the second horizontal support body. 202 are arranged in parallel to the process direction, and are supported by the rectangular holding frame 403, and the end of each suction support 402 on the process step side is the upper end of the L-shaped rotation arm 404. It is one-side supported by the part.
The rotating arm 404 and its driving unit are arranged on the processing step side in order to completely avoid interference between the first transporting conveyor 100, the second transporting conveyor 200, the posture adjusting device 300 and its operation / driving unit. The rotating arm 404 is mounted and mounted on the lifting table 410 via a servo motor 405, a speed reducer 406, a ball screw 407 type rolling device 408, an arm rotation support shaft 409 and its support stand 409st, and the lifting table 410 is mounted on the servo motor. 411, a reduction gear 412, and a ball screw 413 type lifting / lowering device 414 are supported by a slide carriage 420, and a guide 421, a servo motor 415, a reduction gear 416, and a ball screw 417 type forward / backward drive device 418 are supported at the bottom of the slide carriage 420. And a guide 421 is mounted and supported on a rail 422 provided in the lower part 3 of the base so as to be slidable back and forth. The rail 422 is supported by an appropriate height leveling mechanism.
As shown in FIG. 7-4, the rotating arm 404 is moved upward by the lifting device 414 in the order indicated by the arrows, and the lower surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate on the adjustment ball 301 of the horizontal adjustment frame table 303 is attached to a plurality of suction tools. Then, the rolling device 408 rolls around the arm rotation support shaft portion 409 to change the posture from a horizontal state to a vertical shape, and then descends by a predetermined amount to place it vertically before the processing step. The liquid crystal that has been transferred to the cassette and picked up the vertical liquid crystal glass substrate that has been processed by the processing step and converted into a horizontal state by receiving the reverse operation and processed on the second conveyor 200 The glass substrate W is transferred.
With the above-described configuration and operation, the liquid crystal glass substrate transfer device of this example has the structural and operational interference of each of the first transfer conveyor 100, the second transfer conveyor 200, the attitude adjustment device 300, and the suction support rolling device 400. This is a reasonable, robust and compact installation that fully fulfills its functions. Now, for various processing steps of the liquid crystal glass substrate, the liquid crystal glass substrate is kept one by one from the storage cassette etc. according to the rectangular planar shape size of the liquid crystal glass substrate, while maintaining the horizontal conveyance posture accurately, Efficiently and safely, from delivery / in / out operations, up / down operations, posture adjustment operations, transfer direction transfer to intermediate processing steps, and preparation / delivery operations for horizontal / vertical up / down rolls, to actual delivery Well done.
In addition, manufacturing costs can be reduced by 50% or less compared to conventional equipment.

Since the present invention has an excellent effect as described above, it is expected that a large-sized liquid crystal glass substrate and the like will be greatly utilized for manufacturing, and this is not realized without a thin display panel such as a TV or a personal computer. It makes a great contribution to the seed industry.

1 is an overall plan view of Example 1. FIG. 1 is an overall front view of Example 1. FIG. 1 is an overall side view of Example 1. FIG. It is a top view of a 1st conveyance conveyor. It is a front view of a 1st conveyance conveyor. It is a side view of a 1st conveyance conveyor. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 4-1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 4-3. It is a top view of a 2nd conveyance conveyor. It is a front view of a 2nd conveyance conveyor. It is a side view of a 2nd conveyance conveyor. It is an enlarged view of the principal part of FIGS. 5-3. It is a top view of a posture adjustment device. It is a front view of an attitude | position adjustment apparatus. It is a side view of a posture adjustment device. It is a top view of a suction support rolling device. It is a front view of a suction support rolling device. It is a side view of a suction support rolling device. It is a side view which shows the example of a rolling state of an adsorption | suction support rolling device.

Explanation of symbols

100 1st conveyor
101 First horizontal transport roller
103 Bearing frame (first horizontal support)
200 Second conveyor
201 Second horizontal transport roller
202 Second horizontal support
300 Posture adjustment device
301 Support ball
302 pole
306 Posture adjuster
400 Adsorption support rolling device
401 Suction pad
402 Adsorption support
403 Rectangle holding frame

Claims (1)

Accept the liquid crystal glass substrate from the previous process in a horizontal state, adjust the posture of the received liquid crystal glass substrate, roll it into an inverted state, pass it to the processing process, and also handle the inverted liquid crystal glass substrate that has been processed from the processing process. In the device that accepts and rolls horizontally and passes it to the next process,
A liquid crystal glass substrate (W) in a horizontal state is supported by the first horizontal conveyance roller (101) on its lower surface and conveyed in the same direction as the loading direction, and supports a plurality of first horizontal conveyance rollers (101). The first horizontal supports (102) are arranged parallel to each other at a predetermined interval toward the processing step in the direction of 90 degrees with respect to the loading direction, and each first horizontal support (102) is attached to the beam portion (103). The horizontal conveying frame table (104) is supported by the horizontal conveying frame table (104) and the first horizontal conveying roller (101) driving device is installed on the horizontal conveying frame table (104). The first conveyor (100) mounted on the upper horizontal part of the
The liquid crystal glass substrate (W) in a horizontal state is supported by the second horizontal conveyance roller (201) on its lower surface and conveyed in a direction of 90 degrees with respect to the conveyance direction of the first conveyance conveyor (100). A second horizontal support (202) that supports the plurality of second horizontal transport rollers (201) is disposed at a predetermined interval and in parallel with the first horizontal support (102), and each second horizontal support ( 202) is installed in the upper horizontal part of the base part via the girder part (203), and the second conveying conveyor (200) in which the driving device of the second horizontal conveying roller is installed in the upper horizontal part,
An eaves pole (302) that supports the lower surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal state with a support ball (301) provided at the upper end is arranged between the first horizontal support and the second horizontal support at a predetermined interval. The lower part of the pole (302) is supported on the horizontal adjustment frame table, and the horizontal adjustment frame table (303) is mounted on the base via the lifting drive, and the horizontal adjustment frame table (303) is adjusted to the side edge of the liquid crystal glass substrate. A posture adjusting device (300) in which a posture adjusting tool (306) that adjusts the horizontal plane posture to a predetermined posture by operating the roller (304) to contact and separate, is arranged to be adjustable;
The bottom surface of the liquid crystal glass substrate in a horizontal state is sucked and supported by the suction pad (401) provided at the upper end, rolls and passes to the processing process in an upright state, and receives the processed upright liquid crystal glass substrate from the processing process. A suction support having a plurality of suction pads (401) arranged at an upper portion between the first horizontal support (102) and the second horizontal support (202). Arranged in parallel, the end of each adsorption support (402) on the process side is supported by a rotating arm (404), and the rotating arm (404) is used as a base to move up and down, roll, and move horizontally back and forth. Adsorption support rolling device (400) equipped with these drive devices,
A liquid crystal glass substrate transport device comprising:

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